


Set the pace

by Gabebabehot



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I just need more tough boy and dog content, Mild Sexual Content, Past Child Abuse, Small puppies, Sweet Pea is his actual name, big hands, cheese fries, chubby character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 19:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17566169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gabebabehot/pseuds/Gabebabehot
Summary: A cute lil thing I wrote about Sweet Pea finding a small dog and making a friend and then falling in love.





	Set the pace

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a pocket maltese I got to hold at work!  
> Enjoy!

Snow cascaded down onto the tall serpent as he strolled his way to Pop’s. His face was scrunched into a frown as his jacket was doing a terrible job of keeping him warm. There was something about the snow, and the quiet of it, that made Sweet Pea content enough to keep trudging on. He walked in the road, seeing as no one was awake to shovel their sidewalks, making his trip comically lonesome. 

He had woken up that day early enough to watch the sun rise and to hear Keller sneaking out of Fangs’ tent. At 7, he walked around to see if anyone else was awake, but it seemed that everybody had someone else keeping them warm and Sweet Pea didn’t want to disturb that. Cheryl and Toni were all cuddled up, Fangs was resting from whatever adventure he had with Keller, and Jughead had snuck off to Betty’s for the night again. Sweet Pea didn’t mean to sound bitter, but he sometimes wished he still had single friends that he could bother. He did consider making a couple of new ones, but the reality was Sweet Pea was a 6ft 4 giant with an intimidating snake tattoo on his neck. Friends don't come easy to a guy like that. 

Fangs was his first real friend. Someone who didn’t laugh at his name, and respected him more for owning it. They would stand up for each other in middle school, and yeah, they got their asses kicked a lot, but when they hit their growth spurts, everything changed. Neither of their families had enough money to send them to summer camps, so Sweet Pea and Fangs used their summer to work on themselves. They got stronger, faster, and eventually became the toughest freshmen in Southside High. 

Well, except for Antoinette Topaz. She had just started her freshman year at Southside high, and she quickly caught the unwanted attention of some senior ghoulie asshole. The boys, who were conveniently just halfway down the hall, stepped in. The ghoulie said he would come back, but he never did. On that day after school, Antoinette introduced herself to the boys as Toni, and said she never wanted to be helpless again. The boys took her in, taught her some moves, but also promised to have her back as long as she had theirs. Toni didn’t understand at the time. She couldn’t believe 2 huge guys would ever need her for protection, so she gave them friendship instead. Toni provided everything the boys needed: love, trust, care, nurture, and maybe, just maybe, a little help with the female anatomy. 

Sweet Pea laughed at the thought now. Although Toni helped a lot with the knowledge, she never helped with the experience because the boys were like family. The boys would have to go out and practice on their own. While Fangs had rarely any trouble finding and holding down a relationship, Sweet Pea was either seen as too intimidating, or only fun for one night. He reminded himself that if no one wanted to get to know him, it was their loss. At least that’s what Toni drunkenly repeated to him over the phone at 16 when he woke up to an empty bed at 2 in the morning. They had all become serpents by then, and Sweet Pea’s most committed relationship had lasted a couple of weeks.

Later, when Josie entered Sweet Peas life, he hoped things were going to change. They flirted at first, and he really did like her, so when she said “Just for the summer” he couldn’t refuse. Yeah it hurt like hell going back to school pretending it didn’t happen, but he had to respect their agreement. It took some time but good friends and a shit ton of other crap helped him get over Josie. Deep down he still cared for her, but he kept his distance, not wanting to creep Josie out.

But he didn’t let this crap bother him. Because that's what it was. CRAP. So what if his friends where all coupled up? They were happy and he was happy too. It was just small moments like these, the silence in the air as he walked alone to grab cheese fries in the morning, that he wished things were a little different. He knew, when he got back, everyone would be awake wondering were he was and why he didn’t get anyone anything. Fangs would grumble a “Fuck you, Pea” , and Toni would steal a fry without him ever noticing. 

So he smiled, and carried that smile all the way to Pop’s. He walked in, shook off all the snow off his shoulders and hair and ordered 2 orders of Cheese fries to go. 

“A very healthy breakfast I see?” 

“Well I got a mile back in the snow so it evens out.” Pop nodded understanding Sweet Peas hardship and only charged him for one order. 

“Seriously, thank you.” Sweet Pea said as he stuck his hand out to Pops to shake as a goodbye. 

As Sweet Pea stepped back into the bitter cold, he realized it had stopped snowing. With the fresh fries radiating heat onto his bare hands, he slowly began the journey back until he heard a small bark from behind him. He turned around quickly, and if there had been another inch of snow on the ground, Sweet Pea wouldn’t have noticed the small shaking pup trudging through the snow after him. Sweet Pea slowed his movements and looked around for the owner, but there was no one insight. He slowly reached into his bag of fries and crouched down. The dog scrambled over the snow toward the fry that Sweet Pea had taken out, earning a chuckle out of the tall intimidating serpent. The dog gobbled up the fry and begged for another.

Being in that close proximity of the dog, Sweet Pea took a good look at him. He was a maltese for sure, but almost mini? The dog was all white with deep black eyes and he was shaking. Sweet Pea put his hand out to grab the little dog, and realized he must be no more than 5 pounds. He placed his palm on the dogs chest and placed the pups back end to lay on his wrist. Sweet Pea brought the pup against his chest to keep him warm. 

“Hey little dude, where did you come from?” Sweet Pea asked softly and the dog, that he decided to unofficially name little Dude, licked Sweet Pea’s finger.

“Lets see if we can get you out of the cold.” And Sweet Pea turned right around and kept walking North into uncharted territory. He knew the northerners wouldn’t be too happy to see a Serpent with a tiny dog in their neighborhood on a saturday morning but he wasn’t going just leave little Dude. He considered stealing little Dude, but since Sweet Pea could barely afford to take are of himself, the thought dropping him off at a Vet seemed like the right call.

Surprisingly, not many people were out and about on the coldest Saturday of the year. Many people didn’t even wake up to shovel their sidewalks, so Sweet Pea had to continue walking in the middle of the street. Occasionally he would talk to little Dude, tell him how good of a boy he was being just laying across his palm. A couple of times little Dude even barked at Sweet Pea when he hadn’t gotten any attention every 5 minutes.

Eventually, Sweet Pea figured out were the Vet Clinic was located. It took some time, and some grumpy Northsider help, but a couple of blocks past the register and on the right was a building with a cartoon dog inside of a heart. Sweet Pea rushed forward and marched in with fries in one hand and little Dude in the other. There was only one woman at the front desk, but enough seats for two behind the counter. On each side of the front desk were seats, and a big scale was right next to the front door on the left. Some colorful brochures cluttered the tall counter and Dude’s tail began to wag as Sweet Pea approached the older woman. 

“Can I help you?” She asked with no real meaning behind the words. It wasn’t mean or anything, just sounded like she has been saying the same phrase every day for the past 30 years.

“Um, I found this little Dude outside of Pop’s this morning. I was hoping I could drop him off here?” 

“Unfortunately, you cannot drop him off but let's see if he has a microchip.” The woman turned around and yelled for an Emma to bring the microchip scanner on her way back. 

“Yeah no prob!” Emma replied back and Sweet Pea felt some kind of familiarity in the voice, but he couldn’t pinpoint it until she came out from the back treatment area.

Emma was a short chubby girl with bright eyes and dark full hair usually let down and middle parted. He would know her last name if he had paid more attention in biology class instead of just drawing the back of her head (Not in a creepy way or anything, just she just happened to be in front of him since the first day of senior year and hair is really hard to nail while drawing in pencil okay?) Today she wore a colorful scrub top and her hair was messily thrown into a top bun. Her name tag confirmed her identity. 

“Oh hey Sweet Pea, you find this little guy?” 

“Yeah, this little Dude really wanted my fries.” 

“You guys know each other?” The front desk lady asked relaxing a bit when Emma nodded and smiled. 

“Yeah, we go to highschool together. You know this guy” Emma pointed at Dude, “looks a little like the Rodriguez’s new pup don’t you think Carey?” The older woman took a better look at the dog and nodded.

“It does look like Donnie yeah,” 

“Donnie? Eh I’m still gonna call him lil Dude.” Sweet Pea said and using his tattoed thumb to pet the puppy. Emma put her hand up to shield her mouth from Carey as if she was going to whisper something, but spoke at a normal volume.

“That's fucking adorable.” she commented, which made Sweet Pea surprisingly blush. 

Emma then scanned for Donnies microchip and called the owners. The owners were in fact the Rodriguez’s and they didn’t even realize he was out, which meant he probably ran away the night before. Donnie seemed to be in good spirits, and the Rodriguez’s sounded very greatful over the phone. 

By this time, Sweet Pea was sitting with Donnie in his lap as they both ate the now cold cheese fries. 

“Hey, so they probably won’t be here for another hour. They live across town and their car is kinda shitty. Their words not mine.” Emma held up her hands defensively. “So if you want to go you can, or you can stay here with Donnie, and then I can drive you back South. We close early on Saturdays so..”

“You don’t have to do that.” 

“Well the other option is letting you freeze on your way back.” Emma shrugged her shoulders and waited for Sweet Pea’s response. Sweet Pea looked her in the eyes and saw how green they looked in the still morning sun. 

“Since when were your eyes green?” Emma looked taken aback by the question and a red hue appeared on her cheeks.

“Since birth?” 

“I thought they were brown for some reason.” 

“Well you only really see the back of my head so I guess I can’t blame you.” She said as she plopped down next to Sweet Pea and Donnie. She looked down at Sweet Pea’s cold fries and made a pinching grasp with her right hand. She hesitated in mid air and waited for Sweet Pea’s approval before diving in and taking the one fry that had no cheese whatsoever.

“Thats it?” Sweet Pea looked dumbfounded as Emma took the shittiest fry of them all. 

“I’m lactose intolerant! I’m not about to risk my life.”

“Your life?” Sweet Pea asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Ok more like an hour of my life on the toilet but still!” Sweet Pea laughed at her unexpected blunt nature.

Emma then had to go back to work, holding animals for the Veterinarian and taking phone messages as well. He pet Donnie in his lap and watched Emma work with a small smile resting on his face. She would be running around, her top bun slowly receding to the side, and once in a while she would check up on Sweet Pea with just a look. It would be a quick second, her green eyes would meet his and she would smile. The smile was, and Sweet Pea decided to use Emma’s word, adorable. It gave Sweet Pea some much needed comfort, as he was a proud Southside Serpent surrounded by stuck up Northerners. No one dared to say anything to him, but no one exchanged pleasantries with him either. 

When the Rodriguez’s showed up, Donnie almost jumped out of Sweet Pea’s lap to greet them. It was a happy reunion, and the youngest daughter hugged Sweet Pea’s leg in thank you. Sweet Pea said his goodbye to lil Dude and patted the young girls hair gently. She looked up at him and smiled and then ran back to her mom. 

Right after the now completed family had left, Emma began closing down the front area. She grabbed her coat, clocked out and motioned Sweet Pea to follow her out a back entrance.

“I love a good tear jerker in the morning!” Emma said as she skipped down the street next to Sweet Pea.

“That made you cry?” Sweet Pea asked in disbelief. 

“Well yeah! Its kinda rare to have happy reunions like this. Plus the added kid hugging made my wee little heart ache.” She grasped at her chest dramatically, making Sweet Pea roll his eyes.

“So which is yours?” Sweet Pea nods in the direction of several cars.

“Mine is the green beauty right over there.” She pointed with her key in hand, pressing a button twice to automatically start the Jeep that was parked down the block.

“Nice ride. You ever take the doors off in the summer?”

“Well she’s new but I am planning on it!” 

The got into the car and drove south on Main street for a while before Sweet Pea got tired of the radio’s music. He reached over and turned off the radio completely.

“You turn off the radio, You fill the awkward silence.” Emma commented keeping her eyes on the road. 

“Since when is that a rule?”

“Since always? Unless we are a mother son duo in a movie and you want to frown and look out the window while I explain to you how sex works.”

“Do I get to say the classic exaggerated mom at you when you embarrass me?” Sweet Pea smirked toward her.

“Of course!” Emma smiled, appreciating that Sweet Pea played into her comment. 

“For the record, I already know.” Sweet Pea looked back over to a blushing Emma.

“Well yeah of course-” Emma stuttered, surprised by the turn of events.

“Of course?” Sweet Pea questioned his eyebrows playfully rising.

“Cause you know, you’re pretty- ” Emma motioned to Sweet Pea’s chest, “um you know”

“You think I’m pretty?” Sweet Pea asked in suspicion. 

“NO! Wait, stop.” Emma groaned.

Emma was bright red at this point and Sweet Pea was laughing a hearty laugh. At the red light, she put her forehead on the steering wheel in embarrassment. Sweet Pea smiled when Emma looked back at him with her mouth in a pout. She reached over to turn the radio back on but was stopped by Sweet Pea saying “Mooom!” making Emma giggle.  
Emma dropped Sweet pea off a couple of blocks away from where he was currently living. He didn’t want her to see the scattered tents and huddled teens that he now called home. 

On monday, Sweet Pea went about his day normally, doodling in classes and passing notes with his friends. He entered his last class of the day and found a pair of green eyes sparkling at him. Emma was sitting in her usual seat in front of Sweet Pea’s with the biggest grin plastered on her face. 

“Hey Sweet Pea!” she said as he walked past her to sit in his spot. She turned around half way to lean over and talk to him, making other people stare at them. “You want some skittles?” 

Sweet Pea, without speaking, made his pointer and thumb finger into little pinchers and grabbed one green skittle.

“That’s it?”

“I only like the green ones.” Sweet Pea popped it into his mouth. 

Emma gave him a playful glare but accepted the answer. 

In the next week, Emma had somehow convinced the weird guy that sat next to Sweet Pea to switch with her so they could be lab partners. Sweet Pea joked about her persistence in the matter and wondered if it was because she found him “pretty” earning him a punch in the shoulder. As the weeks went on, Sweet Pea began seeing Emma’s cute quirks and found her “pretty” as well. 

They had a big report due right before winter break was supposed to start. Emma asked Sweet Pea to come over to her house so they could work on it together.

“Here’s my address,” Emma slipped Sweet Pea a tiny note, “Come around 5? Ill order chinese.”

“Your parents gonna be cool with me coming over?” 

“Its parent but my moms cool and plus she works late today so she won't even see you.” Emma said as nonchalantly as possible. She shifted uneasy in her seat, making Sweet Pea uncomfortable as well.

“You don’t seem so sure..”

“No no sorry!” She shook her head to clear it. “What do you usually get from the Chinese kitchen?”

And when Sweet Pea walked in to Emma's very middle class 2 story home, he smelled his favorite mongolian beef from her kitchen. She showed him around the first floor. Nothing too crazy, just a living room, a bathroom, kitchen and her moms room. Upstairs was her and her older sisters room. Jenny, the older sister, was off in Michigan for college and always came back for the holidays.

They ate and discussed their ideas for the project, but nothing major stuck. They were seated at the kitchen counter with Emma's bio book laying open between them.  
“Biology was not meant to be creative.” Emma said as Sweet Pea shot down another one of her ideas.

“Technically it's the most creative subject. Living organisms -“ but Emma had zoned out and just watched Sweet Peas lips move. When they stopped moving, Emma blinked rapidly to get off of the cloud she was just floating on.

“Yeah, totally.” Emma tried to recover, but Sweet Pea had a shit eating grin plastered to his face. 

“What were you thinking about?”

“Fuck off!” Emma blushed and went back to talking about the project. 

They spent an hour or more discussing potential ideas but not being happy with any of them.

“Let's head up to my room and see if any creative juices flow up there.” Emma stood up and grabbed all her books, “bring your boots up as well!”

A confused Sweet Pea held his backpack in one hand and his boots in the other as he followed Emma upstairs and to the right. He walked into a room decked out in blues and teals with all black furniture. She had a queen sized bed placed against the back wall of the room and right by the window, a huge turtle tank.

“Oh Shit you have a turtle?” Sweet Pea dropped his belongings at the foot of Emma's bed and walked over to a 8 inch red eared slider basking under a UV lamp.

“Yup, that's my girl Gert. She’s supposed to be burrowing in mud right now but I don't know a store that sells dirt safe for animals. So she basks all day and sleeps all night like the diva she is.” Sweet Pea chuckled at the thought of Gert being a diva, but she turned her head at him and it almost looked like she glared at him.

“Nice to meet you Gert. I’ll leave you be.” Emma smiled at the kindness in Sweet Peas voice. 

“She takes some time to warm up to people.”

“Sounds like me.” Sweet Pea replied as he turned back around to Emma. She was sitting on one side of her bed, twisting all her hair into one giant puff on top of her head. He walked around and sat on the other side with his textbook in hand.

“How about we use Gert as inspiration? The evolution of turtles or something.” Said Sweet Pea making Emma turn to him with a giant smile on her face.

“Yes please!” So they got to work. Sweet Pea looked over the text book for some insight on animal adaptation and survival ofthe fittest ideology while Emma began researching the earliest known turtles on planet Earth. They hadn’t looked at the clock until they heard the front door slam close.

“Emma! I’m home.” Emma’s mother shouted out, and Sweet Pea eyed Emma in fear. Emma checked her watch to see it was past 10 o’clock.

“Hey, mom Im actually already in bed! I’ll catch up with you tomorrow?” Emma shouted back, not moving from her position on the bed.

“Of course sweetie love you Goodnight!” 

Sweet Pea let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and Emma giggled.

“Scared?” she whispered. Sweet Pea rolled his eyes.

“I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“Good thing your boots are up here then.” 

“Did you plan on keeping me here this late?” Sweet Pea whispered, raising a cocky eyebrow making Emma stutter out a soft “no.” 

Emma slowly climbed off the bed and tip toed over to her closet. She opened the door slowly, and grabbed something from inside of it. When she turned around, Sweet Pea saw long green laces in her hands. 

“I had these from my old boots. Never really wore them. Switched them out with those cute ribbon laces so I thought maybe you would like them?”

Sweet Pea half smiled, making his single dimple appear. He grabbed his boots and began delacing them. The black strings were worn out and ready to be replaced. He expertly wove the green laces onto his boots as Emma watched in awe of how gentle his huge hands looked. 

“These look sick Emma thanks.” They were still keeping their voices low, which made Sweet Pea have to lean closer to Emma to say. She was able to smell the comforting pine and leather scent that his skin wore naturally. 

“No problem.” Her voice barely audible. 

“Now question is, how do I sneak past your mom?” 

Emma rubbed her face trying to make the blush that was inevitably going to appear look like it was forced there by her palms.

“You really can’t,” and Sweet Pea’s face fell, “But- um you could just stay the night? My mom starts work at 7 and she never comes up here unless absolutely necessary.” Sweet Pea was silent for a moment. 

“Would I sleep here?” He pointed down to the bed. 

“Yeah, we’d just go halvsies.”

“I had a right to be skeptical about coming here.” Sweet Pea said looking down at his tattooed thumb. “You could have told me your mom isn’t a serpent fan. I would have paid better attention to the time.”

“No it's not that I swear. Its um-” Emma began to wring her hands together in her lap, “you’re a boy, and I’m not supposed to have any over. ” Sweet Pea leaned forward out of curiosity. 

“Because?” He urged on. 

“I’m a teenage girl?” 

“Seriously? That’s it.” 

“Yeah, um my mom doesn’t want me to end up with anyone like my father and so she gets a little judgmental with the people I’m friends with.”  
“Was your dad a piece of shit?”

“Oh yeah total trash. Used to hit my mom, used to hit Jenny, hit me once, but that's all he ever got to do.” 

“What happened?”

“I fought back. I called the cops, showed them my swollen lip and his bruised knuckle fit the puzzle perfectly.”

“Wish I was there, would’ve kicked his ass for you.”

“Aw my knight in shining leather.” Emma fake swooned, earning a soft chuckle out of Sweet Pea. “But yeah my mom’s cool about everything else. Also I kinda never told her you were coming over so my bad.” Emma scratched the back of her head not making eye contact. 

“Wow, keeping things from your mom, harboring a boy overnight in your room. Emma Jane I don’t even know who you are anymore.” Sweet Pea gave a disapproving shake of the head. 

“Oh fuck off,” she whisper yelled to him, blushing profusely. 

Sweet Pea noticed she said that a lot. He figured it was to avoid more flirting, as she could only take so much without turning bright pink and turning away. Usually, when Emma told him to fuck off, he would, but he decided to keep going to see where it would lead. He gently planted his feet on the floor and silently stood up off Emma’s bed. Turning around he made eye contact with Emma and slowly began taking his jacket off, making himself more comfortable. 

“What are you doing?” Emma asked in almost a panic. 

“Well, I don’t usually sleep in my serpent jacket.”

“What, um do you.. Usually sleep in then?” Emma asked breaking eye contact. Sweet Pea smirked and leaned down to be eye level with Emma.

“Not much.” He whispered into her ear, making her hold back a squeak that erupted from the back of her throat. She swallowed audibly. 

“Cool.” was all she could muster out making Sweet Pea chuckle at her awkward nature. He continued to take his shirt off and sit down on his side of the bed. Emma had stared at his chest and muscular arms for a prolonged amount of time before realizing Sweet Pea was talking to her again. 

“Emma Jane!” He was waving his big tattooed hand in front of her face. 

“Um sorry!” She quickly pulled back her covers and laid down, turning off her bedside lamp in the process. She rolled over so her back was to Sweet Pea, taking deep breaths to calm herself down from the embarrassment. 

Slowly, Sweet Pea did the same. A cloud of confusion surrounded Sweet Pea as he thought this was all a set up for another classic night of fun. Was he reading the room wrong? Should he put his shirt back on? Unsatisfied with how the night was about to end, he turned toward Emma and whispered, “Are you okay?” 

“Hmm, yeah um, just tired is all goodnight!” 

“Do you want me to put my shirt back on?” Sweet Pea asked a little awkwardly, not knowing if that’s what was making everything so suddenly uncomfortable. 

Emma turned back around to Sweet Pea and analyzed his face. She noticed his uncertainty and decided it was the best time to lay all her cards out on the table. 

“No its ok,” she took a deep breath before starting again. “I just like you a lot and I’m really shitty at dealing with it.” Sweet Pea frowned, but then quickly softened his expression. She did like him, he wasn’t being a total idiot. “Um, I also haven’t done like anything with anybody so I like get flustered and awkward and then I babble, like I am now.” She quietly fake chuckled to herself to diffuse tension. 

Sweet Pea nodded at her in the dark, and slowly moved over to Emma’s side of the bed. He wrapped his long arm around her and settled his palm on the small of her back, pulling her in closer. “Does my reputation with girls worry you?” He asked, knowing the answer already. She nodded against his bare chest.

“But it's not fair to you.” She spoke softly. Emma had spent time getting to know Sweet Pea and couldn’t imagine him leaving her after tonight. He held her close, almost protectively, and kissed her forehead. 

Sweet Pea lowered his head to look into her eyes that shined even in the dark. “You set the pace, and I’ll follow ok?”

And they did just that. In the morning, Emma had kissed Sweet Pea’s cheek and then he kissed hers when she dropped him off on the Southside. They went on small dates were Emma would hold Sweet Pea’s tattooed hand in both of hers and examine it carefully. 

“You know the back of the hand expression?” Emma had asked Sweet Pea

“Yeah?”

“It’s fucking stupid.” Her blunt nature amused Sweet Pea into a soft chuckle. 

She kissed him first. It was a cold night and Emma had found out from Toni that Sweet Pea was the only one of the teen Serpents to still be living in a tent. Fangs had moved back in with his mom for the winter, Toni and Cheryl were cozied up at one of the many Blossom residences, and Jughead was bouncing around between Betty’s bed or Archies floor. At first, Emma was pissed. Why hadn’t he asked to sleep at her place more often? But then she remembered their agreement. 

So she did what any good unofficial girlfriend would do. She packed up multiple blankets and pillows into the back of her Jeep along with snacks, a thurmace full of hot coffee, and her toothbrush. She piled on socks, and layered up in the comfiest and warmest pjs she owned and drove down to Sweet Pea’s singular standing tent. 

Sweet Pea stepped out of his tent when Emma’s bright lights had turned off. She jumped out of her car mildly resembling an uncoordinated umpa lumpa. After some scolding from his unofficial girlfriend (yes, it was an agreed upon term) about freezing to death, Sweet Pea unloaded everything Emma brought into his tent. They both climbed in, wrapped up in each other for warmth, when Emma decided to brush her cold nose against his before pecking him gently on the lips. Not satisfied with how short the moment was (and also how unprepared he was for it) Sweet Pea asked gently, “Can I get a redo?” and Emma happily obliged. Their second kiss (even though it was a more of a first kiss correction) was slow and soft and made Emma realize how much she liked kissing. 

After that night, Emma agreed on being official. It made her nervous, seeing as it was her first relationship ever, but Sweet Pea was always there to reassure her the title wasn’t anything to stress about.

“Ok how about just being my number 1?” Sweet Pea asked as Emma’s head laid on his plaid covered chest. They had just finished eating way too much junk food and Sweet Pea wanted to nap. Emma quirked her head up in curiosity.

“Explain?”

“Well, you are my girlfriend, but also my best friend, my party buddy, my nurse-” Emma glared at him. “Sorry Doctor, women can be doctors.” Emma gave an approving nod, “What I’m trying to say is if the term girlfriend makes you uncomfortable then we can change it.”

“So I’d be your number 1?

“And I’d be your number 1.” Emma contemplated the term for a second before agreeing. 

When the weather began to warm up, Sweet Pea and his friends retreated to living back in their tents. Emma wasn’t too happy about the idea, mostly because she got so used to making out with Sweet Pea every night until her lips were swollen. She knew he was ok out there, but she missed their time together. 

Within a week, Emma had requested for Sweet Pea to sleepover at her house again. They were making out on Emma’s bed, her straddling Sweet Pea’s enormous frame when Emma felt a wave of courage run through her veins. She stopped kissing Sweet Pea and sat up right, making Sweet Pea let out a small whine. Slowly she grasped the bottom of her hoodie and lifted it up over her head, revealing only a bralette underneath. The sight made Sweet Pea grasp Emma’s jean clad thighs just a little tighter. She tossed the sweater behind her and looked back and Sweet Pea’s darkened eyes. 

“Your turn.” She commanded softly, and she began to unbutton his flannel painfully slow starting from the bottom.When she got to the top button, she used both palms to spread the flannel open to uncover Sweet Pea’s bare chest. She leaned down and kissed his chest making Sweet Pea groan in anticipation. Emma smiled at his reaction and sat back up again. She put her hands on top of Sweet Peas and lifted them up from her thighs, up her sides, and then resting right underneath her “nothing special” chest (Sweet Pea would have a word with her later about talking so negatively about herself because no one was allowed to talk shit about his girl. Not even said girl) Breathlessly, Emma whispered “All yours” giving Sweet Pea permission to touch, kiss, and leave hickies all over her chest. 

The next time, Emma decided to sit directly with her butt on Sweet Pea’s groin and try out some things she saw in a movie. She circled her hips and pressed down into Sweet Pea, making herself moan. She looked at Sweet Pea for reassurance and continued to grind down while Sweet Pea would buck his hips up to meet her. That night ended in some embarrassed but satisfied smiles. Emma shyly brought up the idea of wanting to please Sweet Pea further, and he coached her through her first ever blow job. 

Sweet Pea was quick to return the favor a couple of days later when Emma’s mom wasn’t home. He kneeled at the foot of Emma’s bed, with one of Emma’s legs over his shoulder and the other spread wide, his hand holding it there. Emma’s anxieties were quickly overpowered by the sensation of Sweet Pea’s tongue doing circles on her most sensitive nerve. 

Soon, hot mouths and expert hands were not enough for either of them.They had been teasing each other for some time when Emma had reached into Sweet Pea’s pants and whispered in his ear that she was ready. Sweet Pea promised to be gentle and he held her after for the whole night. 

After Riverdale’s graduation ceremony, Emma and Sweet Pea snuck off to Sweetwater River and kissed until the sun went down. That was when Sweet Pea first broke the rule he established.

“I love you.” He whispered into Emma’s ear breathlessly. She punched him in the shoulder. “Ow! Really?”

“Yes asshole! I was supposed to say it first!"

“Ok say it.”

“Well now the moment is ruined.” She crossed her arms in a huff. 

“And who’s fault is that?”

“Yours!” She exclaimed.

“Yeah but you love me.” He said with a grin. Emma relaxed and turned toward Sweet Pea, her sparkling eyes soft.

“I really do.”


End file.
